10 Myths and Facts About Fibromyalgia

Fibromyalgia is a chronic disorder of the central nervous system that involves pain throughout the body, as well as fatigue.

Everyone who has fibromyalgia experiences it differently, which is one reason misunderstandings and myths often surround this condition.

Knowing the facts about fibromyalgia — and being able to separate them from myths — is essential to making the best choices to control the condition.

“The more informed and active the patient is, the better off they are in conditions like this,” says Don L. Goldenberg, MD, a rheumatologist and professor emeritus of medicine and nursing at Oregon Health and Science University in Portland. “They really need to get solid medical information.”

In that spirit, here are 10 widely held misconceptions about fibromyalgia, as well as what we know to be true:

Myth #1:It’s All in Your Head

The condition causes “chronic, widespread muscle pain,” he notes. “By the time people see doctors, it’s usually many months or years” since symptoms began.

But many doctors, Goldenberg laments, still don’t understand the condition.

“Most doctors think that if your elbow hurts, or your knee hurts, or your shoulder hurts, the pathology is directly in those areas,” he says. “In fibromyalgia, that doesn’t work. The pain is actually coming from the brain.”

This misunderstanding of the origins of the pain, says Goldenberg, is “one of the reasons it’s very controversial, and was for a long time kind of pooh-poohed as, ‘it’s all in your head.’”

Myth #2:Fibromyalgia Is a 'Catchall' Diagnosis

Fact: Fibromyalgia has specific diagnostic criteria, developed by the American College of Rheumatology (ACR).

Many people are under the impression that fibromyalgia is a “catchall” or “fallback” diagnosis because there isn’t any single test or obvious symptom used to diagnose it.

“There’s very little to see on a physical exam,” Goldenberg says. “Laboratory tests are unremarkable.”

According to the ACR, fibromyalgia is diagnosed based on the following factors:

Multiple painful areas of the body (on both sides, above and below the waist)

Myth #6:Complementary and Alternative Treatments Are Pointless

Fact: Meditative movement therapies — such as tai chi, yoga, and qigong — appear to improve fibromyalgia symptoms, according to a review published in January 2013 in the journal Rheumatology International. (1)

In this study, measured improvements were seen in the areas of sleep disruption, fatigue, and depression.

And in a study published in November 2017 in the same journal, a connective tissue massage was found to help with pain, fatigue, and sleep disruption in women with fibromyalgia. (2)

Myth #7:You Should Avoid Exercise

Fact: Exercise is the single most effective treatment for fibromyalgia, according to the American College of Rheumatology.

Aerobic exercise, in particular, has been shown to be helpful in reducing fibromyalgia symptoms. This includes activities like walking, biking, swimming, and water aerobics.

But Goldenberg believes that stretching and strength training are also helpful for many people. Strength training can mean using weights, exercise machines, exercise bands, or your own body weight for resistance.

While exercise may be painful or difficult at first if you have fibromyalgia, regular physical activity can help improve your symptoms and make exercising easier.

Myth #8:You’re Just Tired

Fact:Fatigue in fibromyalgia goes far beyond just being tired. As Goldenberg notes, the condition causes “a tremendous amount of fatigue. People are very exhausted.”

While fatigue is a common symptom of fibromyalgia, an article published in November 2013 in the journal Arthritis Research & Therapy concludes that it doesn’t occur in isolation. (3)

Instead, fatigue in fibromyalgia is interwoven with other symptoms — including pain, sleep disruption, and mood disturbances — and all of these symptoms can influence one another.

Myth #9: You Can Take a Pill to Make Fibromyalgia Symptoms Disappear

Fact: Drug treatments don’t work very well for many people with fibromyalgia.

“The truth is, we don’t have very good medications,” says Goldenberg. “They work well in maybe one out of three or four patients.”

While you may see some benefit from taking a drug approved to treat fibromyalgia, your symptoms will probably just diminish, not disappear.